The United States, despite often advertising itself as the world’s “most developed” nation, has a major problem with homelessness, with approximately 3.5 million currently living with no place to call home. Even though vacant houses outnumber the nation’s homeless by more than five to one, most of them end up sleeping in public places or out in the street. In cities around the country, the homeless are frequently criminalized as are those who offer them food and other forms of human kindness. Despite the widespread maltreatment of the homeless, judges in San Francisco have been dismissing thousands upon thousands of arrest warrants targeting the homeless because “it was the right thing to do.”

I’m not really sure how to begin. These subjects are so important to me and I want to make sure I write in a way that isn’t boring or too one sided. I won’t lie, it will be hard for me given my own personal experiences. That’s why I will lean on research and statistics until it all comes together. This will probably be a two part post. There is so much to all of these subjects that it’s hard to for people to read a 1,ooo word post.

The reason I decided to write about these topics is due to a post I read stating that “Addiction is a disease of Spirituality”. When I read the post I found myself becoming angry and confused that so many could still think this way with all of the scientific research that’s been done. So I’ll go through a shortened version of…

There’s always one, I keep reminding myself every summer… that is, if I’m lucky, because there’s a good chance I get to see more than one. Living by the sea certainly comes with lots of perks, but there are several peculiarities one needs to learn to accept as well. If nothing else, you never get to forget that “vacation” is that magical time of year when boundaries get very blurry for most people. It may not always be fun to witness, it might often be maddening, but hey, you learn to live with it!

So there he is, our summertime, vacation loving gentleman, proudly strutting his stuff, pushing a shopping trolley down a supermarket alley. Belly elegantly spilling over his tight, three sizes too small swimsuit, worn flip-flops flipping the delicate grains of sand finally escaping…

Members of the military serve their country proudly, often sacrificing the luxuries of home and time spent with their families to do so. When veterans return home from training or deployment, many people want to show how much they appreciate the sacrifices made by the men and women of the military, but don’t know the best way to share that appreciation.

Donations to a veterans’ charity is one measure of support the public can offer. Many charities work to serve the needs of veterans. The Wounded Warrior Project provides rehabilitation, counseling and activities for veterans who were wounded during service, while Homes for Our Troops remodels homes or builds them for troops who were injured and need their homes remodeled as a result of their injuries. The USO provides a variety of services for veterans and can always use donations or volunteers.

“Two women are raising concerns about the latest person to move into a Kelowna homeless shelter for women.“He wants to become a woman, I mean that is his choice but when a man comes into a women’s shelter who still has a penis and genitals he has more rights than we do.” Tracey said. Tracey is upset that she was made to share a room with a transgender individual, a man transitioning to become a woman. “They told me, sorry if a person identifies themselves with female, then we have to go with that.” Tracey said. Another client named Blaine was also staying at the shelter. She recently fled from an abusive relationship and says she’s uncomfortable with a transgender person staying at women’s only facility. “Some women have had bad experiences with men so they…

Street Life is a portrait of the Chicago’s homeless population. It begins by demolishing the myth that homelessness is a lifestyle choice. In addition to a wealth of statistics, the documentary includes interviews with homeless Chicagoans, social service workers, homeless advocates and random passersby. I found it intriguing that none of the women interviewed blamed the homeless for their predicament – while more than half the men did.

On any given night 750,000 Americans are homeless, and yearly 25-35 million spend some nights on the streets or in shelters. Worldwide 100 million people have no housing at all while one billion have grossly inadequate housing. Last year, over a million American children were homeless at some point.

In examining the causes of chronic homelessness, filmmakers identified the following breakdown (in Chicago):

You know, I was driving along with a friend today, and we stopped at a red light just past the Stop & Shop plaza. (Where I’d just bought $24 worth of chicken and pumpkin pie, by the way.) I was feeling good, glad that I’d bought everything I needed for the weekend, including necessities from Price Rite and Wal-Mart.

But then we stopped at the light, and there was a homeless man standing there with his sign. Now — here’s a little thing about me. As a general rule, if I have a few bucks in my wallet, and I see a man or woman standing with a sign at the stoplight, I’ll give them the change that I have.

Well, that was the general rule. Lately, I’ve been noticing that the people at the stoplights has been increasing exponentially, almost in a weird way. It’s not their fault they’re…

Having been a member of a gym for some years, I managed to observe some annoying habits of other attendees. Since I no longer have access to a fitness facility I want to dedicate this blog to y’all. (you know who you are)

10 If you are working out, do not leave the equipment covered in sweat. If you do, at best you’ll earn the club gross-out award. At worst, you might have a discussion with Tiny the club rules enforcer. (Tiny tends to talk with his fists, and you could be looking at an incoming knuckle sandwich.)

9 If you are working out, do not do your stretches in a way that blocks others use of a machine. If you do, at best you may find yourself blocked at some point. At worst, a brave soul may only knock you out of the way and use the machine. (You…